Search: “national security”

I am fairly certain that I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I really enjoy the humour of Monty Python.  One of the sillier skits – not that it is easy to choose just one – was when John Cleese plays a drill sergeant trying to teach recruits how to defend themselves against […]

US authorities are still searching for a motive behind Stephen Paddock’s rampage in Las Vegas last week.  A number of ‘theories’ have been put forward, none of which are very helpful.  For instance, the fact that Mr.Paddock’s father was a bank robber and once on the FBI’s most wanted list has turned out to be […]

We learned today that a Canadian, Joshua Boyle, has been rescued in Pakistan, together with his American wife and three children born in captivity after having been held for five years by the Taliban.  Mr. Boyle and his very pregnant spouse were taken by the terrorist group while ‘backpacking’ through central Asia, including Afghanistan. It […]

Three cheers for Saudi Arabia!  The conservative Kingdom has ruled that women can now drive and no longer need to be accompanied by a mahram (essentially a male guardian) when they are in a car.  Many are celebrating this decision although some conservative killjoys have accused the government of ‘bending the rules of Sharia’.  Some […]

In the wake of the recent storms that ravaged the eastern Caribbean and Florida a lot of Canadians were stranded in resorts and hotels and undoubtedly were suffering under horrible conditions, life-threatening ones even.  Many savaged the Canadian government and Canadian airlines for not acting more quickly to get them home and out of harm’s […]

Last Saturday’s arrest in Sydney, Australia of four men in an alleged terrorism plot was the latest in a series of interdictions by Australian authorities.  In this supposed plot, four men are being held under special anti-terrorism powers for planning to place a bomb on an aircraft, hidden in a ‘meat mincer’.  Other reports noted […]

One country that remains a mystery to many is Saudi Arabia.  A relatively new state – it really only dates from 1930 – this desert land sprang from an odd mid 18th century agreement between a very conservative religious tradition, Wahhabism, and the rule of a single family, the Al Sauds.  The Wahhabis care for […]

July 1 is of course an important day for Canadians.  We may not wear our patriotism on our sleeve as often as out southern neighbours in the US, but July 1 – Canada Day – is an exception.  Average Canadians drape themselves in the national red and white flag, paint maple leaves on their cheeks […]

Yesterday’s Canada Day 150 was a bit of a wash, if you consider the weather. I don’t know what it was like outside of the nation’s capital but it rained most of the day here in Ottawa.  That did not dampen the spirits of those that braved the elements from what I saw, however, when […]

One thing we have all gotten used to in the post 9/11 era is the question: at any given time how at risk are we from terrorism?  In an effort to answer this query for a nation’s citizenry a number of methods have been proposed. One of the more famous ones was the US Department […]